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“Big Stat QB-Needs Big Game”

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The Chargers Next Chance Might Be the Quarterback’s Last Chance”

Philip Rivers has spent his entire NFL career putting up big numbers. Now he needs the biggest game of his life to possibly put an exclamation point to a fine regular season.

The numbers the legendary Chargers QB has put up this season are staggering, surpassing some of the great seasons he’s had in the past. But for all the great campaigns he’s had in the past, it’s always been a black mark, he was never able to get to the ‘next game’ in the postseason games he’s played.

Rivers heads to Baltimore with some staggering stats packed in his travel bag, (4,308-yards passing….32-TDs….12-interceptions….68% completion rate…a 105-QB rating)

He’s led his team to a (7-1) road record. The Chargers won where they had hardly ever won before, at Pittsburgh, at Seattle, at Kansas City. They earned this next road trip.

His career numbers are impressive too, a (118-90) won lost mark…a (52-52) record on the road….a (44-21) record in December and January games…and a (122-95) overall record.

But when it comes to this time of the year, Rivers is just (4-5) in the postseason. His QB rating, which is usually around 100 is only (85) in playoff games. He has just 11TDs-9-interceptions and 20-sacks in those 9-post season outings.

Rivers has just 1-playoff win in a Lightning Bolt helmet, dating back to 2008, a decade ago.

He goes into Baltimore with a (3-5) record against the Ravens defense, once led by Ray Lewis, now fueled by his close friend Eric Weddle. His QB career rating against he guys wearing Purple & Black is just 87.

Two weeks ago the Ravens blitzed him, overpowered his offensive line, knocked him off his spot, or knocked him down on his spot. Baltimore came into his stadium and held his offense to just (121Y) thru the first three quarters, before giving up yards in garbage time.

Rivers took 4-sacks, threw 2-picks, there was a fumble, and he took 7-hits and 7-pressures. Baltimore added in 5-tackles for losses, holding the Bolts to (198Y) in total offense.

When he makes his pre snap reads on Sunday morning, he will be looking at blitz packages off the edge, stunts and scrapes off the interior, zone blitzes, deep drops, press coverage of his wide receivers, and the knowledge that his backs and receivers will have to earn tough yards after contact.

As dynamic as Rivers’ offense has been most of the year, it’s not the same chemistry now because of injuries. Melvin Gordon had the sprained knee, then a minor ankle problem. His running mate Austin Ekeler had the neck nerve issue, a minor concussion and now has a groin. Wide out Keenan Allen had a hip pointer. Antonio Gates has age issues and doesn’t seem capable of being a 60-minute man any longer on offense.

The edge tackles, Russell Okung and Sam Tavi haven’t played well in recent weeks. The guards, Dan Feeney and Michael Schofield have been beaten on stunts, twists, scrapes and blitzes three weeks in a row.

Maybe defensive coordinators have finally found a flaw, or maybe it’s just that they are not playing Buffalo or Cleveland or other have nots now.

Come Sunday, the Bolts will have seen most everything Baltimore can throw at a team defensively. The Chargers need to show up with a different approach. There have to be new pages, yet to be used in that playbook.

Rivers cannot stand in the pocket waiting for deep passing routes to come open. The Bolts need to spread the field, spray the ball, throw crossing patterns and slants. They need to get the Ravens out of blitz mode, keep that defense on the field, and wear them down.

If Rivers can engineer long drives, then get the ball back quickly, go hurry up, and pile up the fatigue factor on that front seven.

Sunday will be more than just Rivers playing well. Keenan Allen needs to make a lot of catches. Mike Williams and Tyrell Williams need catches and not dropped passes. Travis Benjamin has to be a different maker, not a pass dropper on his crossing routes. Melvin Gordon needs to be out in space catching the ball.

The Chargers offense knows it’s going to get punched in the mouth. The bigger issue will be if the Bolts can use lightning strike plays to get out to an early lead. Make Lamar Jackson play catchup from a 14-0 or 17-0 deficit.

I’m leery however, if Jackson struggles, Joe Flacco, now healthy, and a mad bomber, could come in and present a whole group of new pages of the playbook, the Chargers might not be ready for.

We’ve seen greatness from this Bolts quarterback, the 400-yard games, the 25-completions in a row game, the 4th quarter drives. His career stats show over 54,600-yards passing….374TDs….a 97-career rating….178-interceptions.

The question isn’t so much can Rivers top what he has already done in a possible Hall of Fame career, but whether his supporting cast can have the games of their lives this weekend, so they can play the following weekend.

The last time he played in something so important, the 2008-playoff game in New England, his star running back LaDanian Tomlinson sat on the bench, helmet on, looking down at the ground, out with a bruised knee. The QB coming off a knee scope the week prior, stayed on the field but Rivers had no touchdowns-two picks, two sacks watching the Patriots pull away in the AFC title game.

They’ve never been close since then, with just 1-playoff win since that 2008-season. They were so close, but have been so far away since the cold night in Foxboro.

The big stat quarterback needs a big game, and so does everyone on the offense, so there can be another big game the following weekend.

Never-say-Never with Philip Rivers, who refuses to lose. He needs to win Sunday in Baltimore to make everyone else forget all the disappointments over all the years, despite all the big stats from the big star QB.

Rivers next chance-might be his last chance to drive a team to the Super Bowl.

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“NFL Coaching Jobs-Let the Bidding Begin”

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Usually when NFL teams fire head coaches, the new guy coming in feels like he is entering ‘3-Mile Island’….nothing left…no one around.

Not this time, eventhough there are 8head coaching jobs open as of this morning.

The reason? 5-of-the 8-job openings come with quality quarterbacks in house, so new coaches will have a chance to build out, build around the talent they inherit at the most important position in the NFL.

Here’s a look at the best-to-worst job openings:

CLEVELAND….Baker Mayfield grew up on the job at quaterback, winning 5-of-8 games after they fired Hue Jackson. The other rookie, running back Nick Chubb finished up the season in spectacular fashion. They have Miles Garrett on defense and lots of young players in house. They could win for years, after all the years of horrible losing. Cleveland may no longer be the mistake on the lake. An ideal landing spot for Mike McCarthy, the ex Packers coach, if they don’t retain Defensive Coordiantor Gregg Williams, who finished up as interim head coach. If not McCarthy, then Josh McDaniels off the Bill Belicheck tree.

TAMPA BAY….Jameis Winston puts up big numbers, but also turns the ball over. They have quality at skill positions around the QB, but the defense under achieved. They need a really strong leader to refine all of Winston’s traits. This place could be an oasis in the desert, and become a winner again, with the right coach on offense to lead them. Does Josh McDaniels of the Patriots sound right to you?

GREEN BAY….You have Aaron Rodgers with time still left on the clock. They have a strong leader in Mark Murphy as CEO, and have decided to become players in free agency. The defense needs a rebuild and they must add more skill to an aging offense. Could be an ideal landing place for Pat Fitzgerald-Northwestern if he wants to leave the college ranks. Otherwise a hot young coordinator might get the chance. Worked the last time with McCarthy didn’t it?

NYJETS….Sam Darnold had a very good rookie season, with alot of injuries around him. Just think what healthy receivers and running backs could mean to the young USC passing star. The defensive front, once a cornerstone, needs a rebuild, but they did play hard for just fired Todd Bowles. It may be New York, a media market, an angry fan base, but it’s Darnold’s team. Can you say McCarthy, McDaniels, or a longshot in college coach Kliff Kingsbury?

DENVER….You would think the Elway factor would be a lure, but now you wonder? Elway might still be the best QB in the building, and he doesn’t play anymore. And he screwed this thing up multiple ways. See the QB-history of Paxton Lynch, Brock Osweiler, Trevor Siemian, Chad Kelly, and the money he just gave Case Keenum. Add into that some strange drafts. Some think an experienced defensive hand like Chuck Pagano, others think a throwback choice of Mike Shanahan or even Gary Kubiak. Elway’s legacy as a GM is really on the line now.

MIAMI…Rudderless operation. GM on thin ice. Owner is out of town, not in building. Surely not the Don Shula era is it? QB-Ryan Tannehill has had two knee injuries and never been the same. Might be coaching. Might be decisions to get rid of skill Jarvis Landry-Jay Ajayi. They really need a culture change, if not a QB change too. Maybe Brian Flores of the Patriots?

CINCINNATI…Forever cheap, forever a loser, owner Mike Brown. History has shown hiring unknowns, or the lowest cost coach you can get. Team in midst of rebuild,needs a reset in leadership too. Does a young aspiring coach like Eric Bienemy or Kris Richard get a chance here? What they really need is a proven leader, but not sure a Jeff Fisher type fixes this. How about Shanahan? How about Gregg Williams? How about Mike Brown stepping aside?

ARIZONA….The Bidwill family always seems to screw it up;. Now they have a struggling GM. They fired another coach after one year on the job. They have a rookie QB in Josh Rosen, who did not improve. They need lots of things. They did find Ken Whisenhunt years ago and got to the post season. They did discover Bruce Ariens skill-leadership level. They need someone to help the kid QB. A young hot coordinator like Pete Carmichael of the Saints or Matt LaFleur of the Titans? Would Josh McDaniels be an ideal fit, bringing all he learned in New England and what he learned after failure in Denver?

You can fix a franchise. Look at the Rams (Sean McVay), the Chargers (Anthony Lynn), the Seahawks (Pete Carroll) became. We all come from somewhere.

These open jobs don’t resemble 3-Mile Island…at least not this year.

Shall be interesting what happens next after the NFL’s ‘Black Monday’

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“Bowl Games-Not What They Used to Be”

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We’re headed to the National Championship Game, the renewal of the Alabama-Clemson games, to determine who is the best college team in the country.

But there’s something missing about this whole December into January post season schedule.

It seems going to the playoff format has destroyed the mystique of some of the bowl games.

There’s no doubt USC-Texas, Matt Leinart-Vince Young years ago was magic. Same thing the first time around Alabama played. Maybe too the matches with Clemson’s array of talents.

The Rose Bowl maybe the Gran-Daddy of them all, but not every year now.

Remember the glory years of the Orange Bowl, when it involved Oklahoma or Nebraska vs Miami or Florida State.

Same with the Cotton Bowl, when it might be Texas vs Big 12-teams.

Here at home, the Holiday Bowl gave us all those wild offensive displays, BYU, SMU- Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and more. Sure Northwestern put on a dazzling comeback win over Utah on New Year’s Eve, but the magic of what used to be, doesn’t seem to be there now.

Our memories flashback to OJ Simpson, Archie Griffin, and heroes of yesteryear in Pasadena among other places.

It’s a different time now. We have 41-bowl games in all, dragging little known teams from seldom followed conferences into a post season game, even if you are (6-6), or (5-7), or lost a bunch of games at the end of the year,and still got in.

The last two weeks have given us a (27-0) Ohio shutout of the Aztecs. And Oregon’s (7-6) win. We had a game that featured 9-interceptions. We had Army beat Houston (70-14). And now coaches get fired if they don’t win bowl games.

It goes on and on…and now you cannot bring it back The toothpaste is out of the tube. Now people are screeching we need an 8-team playoff, because four teams leaves people on the outside looking in.

Now the AP poll is no longer significant. Now crummy non-conference schedules, built to pad your record to (12-0) are important ways of doing business.

Sure we will wait to see what Ohio State is like post-Urban Meyer. We know what Nebraska is now after decades of dominant years. Oklahoma is special. Florida State-Florida-Miami-Penn State, no longer who they used to be.

Maybe Chip Kelly and Oregon rebuild the Pac 12. The Big 10 and Big 12 needs to be revitalized. Who knows if there will ever be rebirth of the ACC.

It seems as if everyone is chasing the SEC, or maybe chasing Alabama .

We used to look forward to this bowl season, the cross-conference matchups you never see. But now the post season brings us more disappointment than dazzling games

Don’t know what the answer is, but what we are seeing college football evolve into is not what we all enjoyed in the past.

Bowl games, not what we grew up watching and loving.

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“UCLA-U-R-Mess”

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When you are a flagship university in a major conference, you should not be like this.

I’m talking Pac 12-Conference, the school in LA, the one where there is losing and chronic unhappiness.

I could be talking about USC, where they still live in the John McKay era. in football. USC where they built a new basketball arena, still don’t win big, and don’t draw.

But I’m not talking Trojans.

I’m talking UCLA Bruins. The ones coming off a bunch of years losing in football, and now having axed another basketball coach.

UCLA, once the gutty little Bruins, are now a doormat in the Pac 12-conference.

Look where football is, though Chip Kelly may lead them to better days, but losing is still losing, and that’s all the fans have had for a couple of years. Can you imagine drawing 32,000 for home games in the Rose Bowl.

In basketball, where the glory years of John Wooden are decades and decades ago, Steve Alford has been given 3.6M to leave Pauley Pavilion. This after a siege of blowout losses, 5-of them in recent weeks, stretching from 14-to-29 point setbacks, some even at one, and some to little known teams from smaller conferences.

Who would ever think, they’d draw 7,200 fans for a home game at Pauley Pavilion this week.

A guy most thought would be a tremendous hire, a protege of Bob Knight, with a track record of decent success, Alford flames out after a great start..

Alford had that (24-5) big season, with the Lonzo Ball team. But nothing has been right since then, or since the final game of that season, where Ball and his buddies got bloodied by Kentucky and John Caliper.

Since then, all downhill.

The Bruins never recovered from the China syndrome episode last fall, when LaMelo Ball and two teammates were arrested for shoplifting in China, while on a university tour.

Suspensions, expulsions, it’s been air ball after air ball, now turnovers and losses, not a good formula with the kind of power Big Cigar boosters yield..

UCLA brought in a loaded recruiting class, and so much was expected. Two major injuries. Poor play. Blowout losses. Boosters screeching. The head coach blaming his kids.

The final press briefing had him referring to his players as a ‘bunch of 7th graders’. Doesn’t speak well of his ability to teach-grow-lead the recruits he signed.

Not a pretty picture of a name coach losing control of his team, losing his kids, losing the influential boosters.

And to think UCLA disliked a fairly successful, though conservative Ben Howland, to take this on.

So much is expected in Westwood, because of what they were 40-50 years ago, the Lew Alcindor-Bill Walton-John Wooden era.

It can’t be that way ever again. The NCAA one-and-done rule with the NBA has changed everything. Alford could not change. Maybe it’s a Bobby Knight ‘cut from the cloth’ thing.

Now changes have been made.

AD-Dan Guerrero should be in trouble too. Having to payoff Jim Mora in football, now Alford in basketball.

It’s a long road back, once you ruin a program UCLA is about to find that out.

In language those on twitter understand, “UCLA-U-R-Mess”.

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“Teams in Town-This-That-The Other”

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Writing memos about what I’ve seen-what I think about our teams

CHARGERS…You may be impressed with the season Philip Rivers has had, but the way they lost to Baltimore, and how poorly they played in Denver, casts a shadow as to how far they can go in postseason. The offensive line is leaking oil and the consistent big plays have disappeared. Melvin Gordon tweaked his ankle at the end of the ugly win in Denver and LB-Jatavious Brown went out with an ankle too. The Bolts seem to think TE-Hunter Henry is ready to be activated off IR-but how many big plays do you expect from him after missing the entire season? Next up the road game in Baltimore, against the number one defense in the NFL, in their stadium. And if that’s not enough, QB-Lamar Jackson continues to pile up impressive numbers running the Baltimore run-pass option offense, that had nearly 300-yards rushing on Sunday against Cleveland. The Broncos hand delivered a plateful of mistakes in the loss in Denver:
..Botched an onside kick to start the game;
..Fumbled a lateral pass that resulted in a TD;
..Dropped two likely TD passes;
..Dropped 6-passes in all.
..Threw a pick in the end zone..
..Threw an interception on a 2-point conversion
..Fumbled a kick return
..Fumbled a shotgun snap
..Wiped out a 54Y-TD run and a 28-yard pass on back to back plays with holding calls.

The Chargers didn’t really do enough to win, but the Broncos wouldn’t allow the Bolts to lose.

AZTECS….Just ridiculous all this criticism of Rocky Long late season SDSU football swoon. I do expect some assistant coaching changes, but big issue was a lot of injuries and a lot of really young players forced on the field. I was stunned State signed just 1-local recuit of the 13-they inked in the early signing period. The Pac 12-swooped in and took a few marquee names. Maybe just a down year in San Diego for D-1 recruits.

HOLIDAY BOWL…This is not a sexy matchup equal to the days when Steve Young-Ty Detmer-Barry Sanders came here. It’s not BYU-Penn State-Oregon-Washington State sexy. But the Northwetern-Utah matchup is a good one, led by two of the nations vastly under-rated head coaches in Pat Fitzgerald and Kyle Whittingham. Northwestern beat Iowa-Wisconsin-Michigan State. The Utes knocked out USDC-Stanford-Oregon, and won 9-games despite losing both their starting QB-Ty Huntley and RB-Zach Moss.

PADRES…Funny Christmas card put out by frustrated baseball fans….”Padres have opened trade talks with _____, expressing interest in _____, but not willing to give up ______. Still a 96-loss roster here heading to New Year’s day.

AZTECS…A hideous loss at San Diego State, letting Brown, Ivy League Brown, go on a (26-0) scoring run in the first half. SDSU was down (50-22) at halftime to a team that does not give out athletic scholarships. This loss on top of Maui Classic blowouts, the loss to USD, and more. Here comes Mountain West play too. Why do I get the feel Jalen McDaniels and the next coming of the disappointing Malik Pope. So much for Brian Dutcher’s ‘sunshine statements’ about 10-days of good practices..young guys bonding…Growing young talent…Lots of potential but not very consistent.

USD….Bring on the West Coast Conference. They have 11-wins marching thru a tremendously tough non conference schedule, with a roster loaded with seniors. A special season here even with Gonzaga and some tough WCC schools on the schedule.

UCLA…This looks to be a nitemare of a season for Steve Alford. 6-losses in last 9-games…5-blowout losses from 14-to-31 points this year. Young team, injured team, team that has not recovered from the mess a year ago with the China shoplifting incident with the Ball family.

UCLA…Add to the substandard first season for football coach Chip Kelly, and you wonder if AD-Dan Guerrero should be feeling heat, lots of heat?

JANUARY…Intersting month ahead…just 5-weeks before the San Diego Fleet, then the San Diego Strike Force, open this football seasons. The Fleet haven’t done much marketing, and no press conferences in town. The Strike Force don’t start till late February, and will be going head to head with the Fleet for fans-sponsors. Maybe they all become active once the calendar turns to January.

GULLS…This has been a hard start to the season, so many young kids, and so many callups from the parent Anaheim Ducks. Aside from Denver University star Troy Terry, it has been slow growth for the other young kids, Sam Steel, Isac Lundestrom (0-goals) so far.

SOCKERS-SEALS….The tradition of great success of the San Diego Sockers will alway be part of our fabric. Disappointed the ownership has not marketed what continues to be a good product on the field. It’s almost an after thought in our community now. Indoor lacrosse has great potential, with the explosive growth of the sports on the West Coast. Shall be interesting to see if the sport catches hold. Again you have to market yourself outside of your own building.

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